Road Trip: Day 10

Starting: Port Angeles, WA
Ending: Renton, WA
Distance Traveled: 100-ish miles + Ferry

Day 10 Goal: Bainbridge Island & Ferry, errands in downtown Seattle

Gift Cards Used: AMEX

What to do today...  I received a few recommendations from locals last night while watching Thursday Night Football. One recommended Port Townsend, another suggested to take the scenic route and drive entirely around the peninsula, my brain told me to head to the other side of Olympic National Park and take advantage of the opportunity.  In the end, the necessity of errands and a friend's recommendation won.

The day began with a stop at a local gas station for obvious reasons. Unknowing, however, I had stumbled into an impromptu town meeting. The bridge across the street had been under construction for nearly a year and today's presence of Washington Department of Transportation officials & local police had caused quite the stir. Was it finally open? Was there a problem with construction? Did they run out of funding? I heard every possible theory from the 20+ locals who had congregated in this small space. It took nearly 15 minutes until I could flag down an employee to take my money for gas and bottled water. To keep my day on track I had to leave without an answer, but admittedly did enjoy the sampling of small town America.

Bainbridge Island & Ferry

Apologies, but I was so enjoying my stroll around the downtown that I forgot to take pictures! It looked like New England migrated to the west coast... I just needed a bigger wallet to be able to shop there. I did enjoy a locally-sourced lunch and gelato for dessert.

I stole this from TripAdvisor

Ferry from Bainbridge to Seattle

New experience! I'd never taken a car onto a commuter ferry before. Also, guidebooks to Seattle often list a ferry ride in Puget Sound as a must-see, so I was happy to knock that off my list.

 In line to board the ferry...

On board! 

Looking back at Bainbridge Island 

I'll take any of those houses, thanks!

Looking ahead to Seattle

The entire ferry ride is just over 30 minutes, so there was plenty of time to stretch my legs and enjoy the view from the deck. I did learn to keep a firmer grip on my phone - the wind nearly stole it!

Upon arrival in Seattle I also learned that my GPS does not like the city.  It ceased to work as soon as we hit the dock and resumed only after I had driven halfway to the hotel. So, add that to things I'd wish I'd known ahead of time.

Beyond that, I had an afternoon of errands, traffic, and unpacking & laundry at yet another hotel. I'll be hunkering down and taking care of some business before leaving the States on Sunday, so I anticipate skipping a blog entry tomorrow.

Thanks to all for your continued reading. I look forward to Sunday's entry when I've finally arrived in Vancouver, BC!